OATH question

[Stimm]

Why is a Balrog blade the popular choice for an OATH? I found an eth Champion sword and looked it up and it is faster then a BB. Am i missing something that makes BB better or atealst more desireable?

[Aerath]

better damage on avg.
lower dex req.

And, iirc, both make the breakpoints anyway.

[PhatTrumpet]

Dex req is really a moot point, it's more about the damage difference and the lvl req. You could try out an eth Champ 'Oath' Zerker, and you would need slightly less ias gear to hit max frames, but people wouldn't like that you were ~5 or so lvls higher than everyone else's lvl 53 Barb.

When you have an ethereal weapon with so much %ed, base speed becomes less of an issue.

[Aerath]

Good point about the lvl reqs :)

Hadn't thought about that one - never keep track of such things =]

[Full_Circle]

Highland Blade
1-Hand: 22 to 62 (42 Avg)
2-Hand: 67 to 96 (81.5 Avg)
Level Req: 49
Str: 171
Dex: 104
Speed: [-5]

Balrog Blade
1-Hand: 15 to 75 (45 Avg)
2-Hand: 55 to 118 (86.5 Avg)
Level Req: 53
Str Req: 185
Dex Req: 87
Speed: [0]

Champion Sword
1-Hand: 24 to 54 (39 Avg)
2-Hand: 71 to 83 (77 Avg)
Level Req: 57
Str Req: 163
Dex Req: 103
Speed: [-10]

Highland Blade for me, thank you. I don't really understand why everyone goes with Balrog... maybe the significantly higher max damage to 1-hit KO chickeners? The total reqs are similar, and everything else you use can be used at level 49, so why go to 53?

Edit: I was assuming PvP when I posted... for PvM, where the level req doesn't matter, I prefer the BB.

[Stimm]

Absolutely I meant for PvP , hell what else do we talk about here on these forums anyways?

[Sip]

If you are using oath on a whirlwind barb, 50% ias will hit the last breakpoint regardless of what sword you use.

I use balrog because it has the highest 1 hand average damage, as well as the Lowest Dex req (I dont use shield, I use another eth oath bb).

The damage on an eth oath Balrog blade with the same % enhanced damage as an eth oath highland blade is very different. A perfect eth oath BB will do close to 500 1 hand damage :)